The present invention relates generally to an air spring for a vehicle closure.
For vehicle closures that open by swinging upward or sideways, it is usually desirable to maintain the closure in an open position in order to allow a person to gain access to the interior of the vehicle. Rear lift gates and swing gates are such vehicle closures. One or more air springs may be provided in order to maintain the particular gate (closure) in its open position while the person accesses a rear cargo area. Conventional air springs are purposely limited in their holding capability when the closure is in its full open position in order to allow for a reasonable amount of force to be exerted by a person during movement between the closed and open positions. Air springs with higher gas pressure allow for a more robust hold open, but create dissatisfaction during the closing event since the dissipating energy in the air spring does not drop off at a fast enough rate to allow for easy closing of the swing gate. Thus, a desire has arisen for a way to better hold the lift and swing gates (or other similar types of vehicle closures) in their open position while still allowing one to close the particular gate with minimal effort during the closing movement.
Some have attempted to overcome this drawback by employing a latching-type device that engages at the full open position and helps hold the closure in this open position. But such devices are undesirable in that they require a two-handed operation for the person to close the closure. That is, one hand must release the latch while the other hand pulls on the handle of the closure.